Strong performance in a growing market
In the Dominican Republic, in 2016, off-trade sales for bottled water rose by 2% in volume in that year, while sales figures rose by 5% in value - to reach 1.3 billion litres and DOP (Dominican Peso) 12.4 billion, respectively. Demand for bottled water in the region is expected to remain steady in the coming years.[1]
Although the majority of still bottled water is typically sold in bulk, in large five-gallon containers, and often delivered to apartments and residences of the Dominican consumers by their nearby independent grocery retailer, growth in the market was particularly fuelled by single-serve products launched that year. Higher than normal temperatures also played their part, causing an increased need for water consumption among the Dominican end users. In line with rising health awareness globally, consumers in the Republic are also shifting towards healthier options, including bottled water.
Experiencing the biggest gain in market share in 2016, Industrias San Miguel continued to expand within the domestic bottled water market primarily under its Cool Heaven brand, increasing its sales in value by 17%. The organisation also continued to further consolidate its position within soft drinks. Following the sustained growth of its Kola Real brand, its Frutop brand - a refreshing drink with the combination of natural fruit flavours enriched with vitamins A and C - its 360 energy drink and the introduction of a new passion fruit flavour during the year, ISM emerged as the leader within non-cola carbonated drinks.
Many reasons to choose Sidel
The commercial relationship between ISM and Sidel started in 2005. From the installation of the first blower, the team at the customer’s site was impressed with Sidel’s equipment, recognising the notable savings in utilities and the high reliability it offers.
Angel Idone, Innovation and Engineering Specialist at ISM, explains the reasons behind choosing Sidel yet again for their recent installation: “Sidel is a global pioneer in the manufacturing of PET bottles, packaging design and blow moulding equipment. Their solutions are automated, highly efficient, fast and, most importantly, consistently providing energy savings throughout the entire production process. The company’s after-sales technical support is equally reliable and very professional.”
He continues: “Since 2005, we have been acquiring Sidel blow moulding equipment. With the blow moulding of PET bottles being the most energy-intensive process within the whole production line, they have helped us generate considerable savings over the years. The high uptime of Sidel equipment also enables us to achieve greater efficiency from the production lines in which it is installed. Moreover, Sidel has helped us reduce our bottles’ weight, that’s why we have further minimised our TCO, which is key for our results.”
For the production and filling of PET bottles for ISM’s Cool Heaven water and Frutop juices in
[1] Euromonitor International
